Mikel Otxoteko. Artist, researcher, and UNIR Master’s professor
He develops artistic research projects at the intersection of experimental anthropology and image-making media. His doctoral thesis Audiovisual Arts and Neo-materialism (UPV/EHU) received international distinction and included an invitation from filmmaker Manuel DeLanda as a visiting researcher at Pratt Institute (New York).
He has exhibited his work at institutions such as the Musée d’Art Contemporain Les Abattoirs (Toulouse), Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporánea (Valencia), The Rag Factory (London), San Telmo Museoa, and Centro Cultural Montehermoso (Basque Country), and has undertaken research residencies in Newfoundland, Puerto Rico, and Bakersfield. His film Invierno (2019) was screened at festivals including Cinespaña and Zinebi.
He will soon present a solo exhibition at MUNTREF, Museum of Immigration and Contemporary Art Center (Buenos Aires, Argentina), as part of the EAZ/EZE program.
This website has received support from the Department of Culture and Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government.
Installation with graphic documents and videos on cultural identity on the island of Saint Pierre. The ensemble highlights the colonial past of the archipelago and the weight that Basque culture still has today.
La Exposición Colonial Internacional de París de 1931 emplazó en una isleta del parque de Vincennes el Pabellón de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. El decorado creado idealizada fatalmente la identidad cultural de los Saintpierreses. Coincidiendo en el tiempo, Al Capone se desplazado en persona al archipiélago para convertir Saint-Pierre en un enorme almacén a través del cual canalizar hacia los Estados Unidos el alcohol de contrabando. Con ayuda de los vascos de Lapurdi, se levantaron para ello grandes construcciones de hormigón que aún hoy siguen en pie haciendo visible la verdadera historia. Esta pieza de vídeo propone una reflexión sobre el poder de las representaciones.
ZAZPIAK BAT, 2023, 11 min, HD video
The Zazpiak Bat was probably the first Basque pelota court built in America. A symbol of history and culture, linked to the European continent, it was erected by Basque sailors in 1897. Initially built of wood, it was destroyed due to internal conflicts at the beginning of the 20th century and later erected in concrete on the same site. Today men’s and women’s teams train daily and hold competitions.
Deportistas: Elodie Hebditch, Malika Plaa, Lora Perrin, Mélanie Janil
Cámara 1: Ione Atenea Lameiro
Cámara 2: Mikel Otxoteko
Realización: Mikel Otxoteko
Financiación: Gobierno Vasco y Museo San Telmo de Donostia